Thursday, April 13, 2017

Week 2 Marketing Blog Forum

SOCIAL LISTENING


The brand I selected was Bob's Red Mill.

The value proposition of Bob's Red Mill includes their whole grains, non-whole grains, gluten free options, healthy, fresh, taste, and a positive atmosphere.  

On Bob's Red Mill Facebook page one person stated, "World's best steel cut oats. If you need gluten free this is the place for you. Restaurant menu is simple and tasty and the factory tour is well with the time." In the past, I've visited Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Store & Restaurant which is headquartered in Milwaukie, Oregon. Stepping foot into the store was overwhelming at first since they have a plethora of whole grain and non-whole grain options. Additionally, Bob's Red Mill sells breakfast items such as pancake and waffle mix. Bob's Red Mill is currently performing well due to their wide variety of gluten free options which are limited in many restaurant locations in Oregon and across the U.S. A company which too has a wide variation of products and flavors is Chobani. Chobani has a wide variety of options including yogurt, yogurt flips, dips, smoothies, and yogurt for children. Another customer commented, "We always enjoy visiting Bobs Red Mill!! Food is good and it's so much fun shopping for grains and healthy items. And the staff is ways so friendly and helpful. You can tell they love their jobs"😁 Not only are their products superior to other competitors, but they highly emphasize a consumer-based environment by employing staff that care for their customer’s needs. In addition, the staff promotes an ethical culture inside the store by seeking out to assist customers in the store who seem lost finding a specific product. Another company that goes above and beyond to strongly promote a friendly atmosphere is the Walt Disney Company. Located in Anaheim, California, Disneyland employees are always friendly to their customers; especially employees who dress up as Disney characters. From my experience at Disneyland, the employees in character go above and beyond to respect all visitors. An employee in character will approach a visitor with ease acting out their role and then taking photos with people of all ages. Another customer commented, “Really disappointed in the gluten free pizza dough mix. I followed the directions and got a mashed potato like mess that had to be tossed.” The customer who wasn’t satisfied with the gluten free pizza didn’t receive a response from a Bob’s Red Mill associate. 

The customer posted his comment on March 4th! Even though Bob’s Red Mill currently has a ranking of 4.8/5 stars, the company can still be vulnerable to negative comments due to some of their poor performing products and lack of communication to all customers. After all, no company wants to pull a Blockbuster by not listening to customers!!!

The marketing implications of Bob’s Red Mill include continuing to improve gluten free products. Also, Bob’s Red Mill should respond to every customer who comments on their Facebook page to build their positive customer relationship.  

If I were the brand manager for Bob’s Red Mill, I would explain to my marketing team the benefits of responding to every customer. Each customer’s opinion counts and one negative comment about one’s brand on social media can negatively impact sales. Once a negative comment is posted on any social media outlet, it has potential to spread like wildfire! 

MARKETING IN THE NEWS

Recently, the Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm released both the new teaser trailer and official poster for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Writer of the article Ann-Christine Diaz explains, “The curious imagery leaves us with some big questions: Why is Luke's face so much bigger than that of Ren, who practically recedes into the background? Why does Rey's saber change to red, the color associated with the Darkside, and why is red so dominant in the image overall?” (“The Stunning 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Poster Is Such a Tease”). The new movie poster somewhat copies the very first released Star Wars film poster; Star Wars: A New Hope. Both the most recent and original Star Wars poster show Rey and Luke at the center of attention. Both main characters raise their lightsabers’ in the air. Also, Rey and Luke’s lightsabers display a beam of spherical light at the base of the fictional weapon. The beams of spherical light create an upside-down “T formation”. Different from the original Star Wars movie poster, the most recent movie poster hints a major plot twist that everyone is taking note of. Also, there is a slight possibility it could result in a reverse psychology tactic that Disney and Lucas initiate to get the public talking about what they think will happen. There is a chance the two companies are faking out the entire audience purposefully; not revealing too much about the outcome of the film.    

The marketing challenge both Disney and Lucasfilm are facing is targeting all demographics.  

The value proposition is new, revealing, and suspenseful.  

Deciding to take the safe route in marketing is risky since it can lead to public criticism via social media. People who publicly poke at films can turn a clip, picture, or even a movie poster into an entertaining gif. One of the main reasons the most recent Star Wars movie poster can be used in gifs is due to partially copying the movie poster of Star Wars: A New Hope.

http://creativity-online.com/work/star-wars-the-last-jedi-poster/51533
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/













No comments:

Post a Comment